"1IJIAUI .-- Macrino, Raymond. “Jackie Curtis: The Victory Isn't Vain.” The Herald: The Section 2. Theatre Poge5 Manhattan News and Entertainment Weekly (6 June 1971): s.2, 5. lune 6. 1971 Jackie Curtis: The victory isn't vai n • \/ y <01ttnb111,.,,, to "WR eally sc 11tn1 in• de Jae.be C\lrtb • • wry d ilf k ull thmg: 10 do. JO muc.h scc:m1I0 be lud dcn and cnllttly 1naecetabl t. 11111 C'CnJtant tu ptNw ;arcnca o r c-0¥U'Onmcn1 al1d pmm cd tch cd u.lc matt 11 nollil to tmpot!Qble 10 enpac h lffl ,n :11convnwI10n o n one l' p,CICLfK po tt>I to, any more Oun • few bnd mo rnc-n1s Outwardly, Jacbe t« ffl J to be extrtmcly duordcrcd. bul tfltr sorne ~ roful ob9CAallOn 11 bc,comes quUe dear th:at he 1$ overloo t1n1 notblna anJ 1s wry c.a~ Je of c■ rrym1 on xwenl COI.\WJsahons aDd K l1•.t1Ct ~multaMOU:11)" J U'IUC) ftC lhal tS bow ht: aceomplllhtti IO much In such bn d hlM 1pan1. Rc«nlty, I t1oppert,m, aad ~~:~~-~":~. ':!tr:.::':~:l::=~ a.u. o.m. y.,. •od a: c-11u .,,. 1no11ymou1 ::::,::~: CYC,Yllllnl fJII.II a lMx ""W~\ h,;oe9 • ~ II• • ...:.. phone aJler lhrt.1f1ncd ro Ila,.....,, At.oft '~°"".:.:-,:.~ nplodc • bomb tMllt -«d, tlliti .....,_ ot tO..,_ •lilo ...,,_ paMII f04 , .. kt-1 Ml 1n rhc Ulit.aittc 1( th• play opn,cd 0,w, of Jadx"s f.a"OOIC KtrY"ltRI • WtY ICl«WaMq_•'ll • VMl••~ .... tt.c '1U'UJ a&h that h• •lf~e th.at nctil Tbe 1.brea1. cbC!c:hd out by lbe pobcc, wat c-J'l1n,okt manes on 1 v Alo• w,th h• '«ucd. oat ha• t.c.uy 1...-. t aallll 4•..-r't'd ft0m tbe tltNt• of lha in tbc.tr fashion. ptowtd to be can:ful obst:rvar,ons o( poopk PfO¥OC1t1'fldy blhc4 •~ tit.at spaUed witb \n two Of th.rN day, and are now falx , but II mikes one rutac, Jud bow Ind ahUc r, all stunn1na\)' pre•nttd ,n b\tO, and cttd coUeusly some people uto Jacloe's hlJ)pcnu\11, .,.,n1a1t" mov,c.s proyfdo while. A bbck ind wh\le 'Wtlh mort: "-olor 1,kic'I moat r«ent ftnture il a play In 1ctiw111e-$. insp1n1110n for m an y or hss creahon.L Ou n Mak1na ro l h!e h,k lC ~rtw. l'h:at • who wu t tt.t.a. Ye11t Yttl()I)' , prucntcd at the, La In the rc«nl p.HI Ind p~nl, Jackie h.as Pt<>pk: more aW31c or thtu Ofl 1h11 po5t u h '"k.11111:Carh1 ., • t»i-1.. nt bptrvnt:ntal lbettrc on the lower 11.td his hands lnlo Just about ...-ct)'lhu.1 tt1V1t0nmcn1 , a nd OIJ>«uUy the Amcnc•n ... lflll hcbt u, tlw toartunc,, h.u.)' •OJW ot Side: WnlltD and dll'f<.1C.dby Ja<.t:te. blJNnly PQN,blc. tndu.c:hn& lcctunn& at cullu rc which :PJtrou1'(b U,S, l«ntt to bt one lhc uftderpoGDd Al llW hlDC~ JM.tlt"J...., C'Oradffl ll •• bat play to d1tc Thtre Unt',CffllX-S,. ffl0 '11tt,. ldC"YlllQn, publulU1'S: ol Ja'n,. t,tm·es 10 1 • ~ Ore.am I.JW'lnaon Elrth ha~ 1nncwa1e and to cru1t to t,auly of lbc pby can ti«omo lOf1 in th e l'M)n-dltbntl), t,hodc and dG1rm, and tkri 11..-tt, That V•tn Y/cto,y • ul1unatdy The st<1ondproJt(t is ftndfna a 1hcctte for conquu tb.ro\lP lbrUhu,t IO"ftC11"'1nat.• ---- Wllb m.aitmaI dc.pty P,t1Htrab.fta Vt 1n V11e1oryso 1h11 •II or the comp.any s.t"l.lltflftS koowkdte ol Ult llalOff '( --- o• bit une,o,ub1y aod illu~Q could ttnlc down •nd 1udicoca: cou.ld come Holtwood (iau .and lbm- Sb.ta. l!ld - .... .,. be dllurDed by Ille fOloWlnS •Dd ..c 1G and there •outd be hme tXlremdytankcomaaodofword&...... , ,,.. lbe flllll kt. dthYered by 1111th Of coune thtft .,. othtr • itd Pro,e ..1 h anaaa l0 lhC' Cnnd ,_...MINtlf Ceacnl ·y· ..-nb 811DWbil-t.hetd (my f\lpc:nl •n. •bo IKM 10 be lbocliaai1 duo, ..,,. IOIII .,._DOI .... The Pynaud1 Ir, fr om Doub leday) female, aod moll of them becomer, calislhtn it.1 ltllllbor1ka ud bOMI •Mtb •owd •«&hll1(Un,, end 1w1mm1n1,. ' ln thdr ro1el ill order to tee, an.e _. ..,_. to ~•• ftrtWty Nar, focuad OD tll!UI Ja,b. ~ ,_. to be lallOt'lll 1... IO 1111• Lily Torntm a.t lhe waQted to do a TV _,._by,.,,...... , __~ llr... .._...... _for_,. .. .._,, ..,..w•11b me IQd I'm •n•-.. II DOW ,. - 0..-Ce IUdll ta OUl'llcOl&tly MY oa utuml ,,...neca IO_..,. of lllillt-A •oae ...._ lalO hcw:hc •n4-lon,b u11ntt...s .,- tollyoa fon•ud....,.. :="':~ lnUdSC IO "111.Kh wort , publabld =br Dou~:.~e ~o.~k~!ti' "A nd Y c:alls me hil •roomm :! ,t e' and :::._nec,:..:::P':':.;.:~ :""'- ~ ~ 1 not .=.= ':':. ~ (&old 0111) St0111t 0/ KUM,. tit« one of h• JU~nttrt. I SUPPe A ! l I osters that appeared .ia;tes as Bette Davis, Maria Callas and Th e s.:veraJ thousand p d t th . la tftabury.According to Jackie , there i.n Manhattan about a year ago read aM :~ any people who d.pn't recognize the "What Beco mes a Legen ° · b ase , h · f someone en who have posed for the actuar ad, Above thes e words , t e image o . he quickly adds that his self-made very special an d quite unique ap_pea~ed, wit: teased out hair, heavy hpsttck a~ on disappeared from the streets of the provocatively lashed eyes that s~arkled with in two or three days and are now glitter all stunningly presented m black and idered collectors items. white .' A black and white with more color ;ekie's most recent ventur e is a play in tha n real life . Jackie Curtis. That's wh? :,vas e acts, Vain Victory, present ed at the La on that poster. Jackie Curti s, a brilliant ma Experimental Theatre on th e lo~e r , shinin g light in t he sometimes ha zy ~o,rld ~f t Side. Written and directed by Jacki e, the underground. At that time , Jackie s hair considers it his best play to date . Th ere was long and sty lish , the fingernails were e been others, five others, to be exac t , all polished and the dress was decid ed ly o which have been produ ced. His third feminine. He was referre d to by close p ay, Heaven Grand in Amber Orbit, is still friends always in the feminine gender. Most production, having been brought to people not involved in or fully aware of the urope by John Vaccaro and his Th eatr e of underground scene did not know whether t e Ridi cu lous. At the mome nt it is being he was male or female, or even mo re re,sented in Paris, after a run in Belgium, importantly, whether or not he was re~lly nd is next sche dul ed to open in Edinburgh serious about the image he was producing. in the near futur e. Up until now , Heave,:z "When I went to Art & Design they said Grand in Amb er Orbit has probably recei ved to pain t wh at you see, write what you know 1more atte nti on than any ot her of Jacki e's and let go. I never claimed to be a man, a plays, with Femme Fatale, the Three Faces woma n, an acior, an actress , a homosexual, of Gloria follo wing at a close seco nd . Vain a het erose xual, a transsexual , a drag queen, Victory, how ever, promis es to surpass any an Academy Award winn er, and I never was ·of the oth ers. It is a surr ealistic story of politically inclined. spies and secret identiti es, taking place "But I must admit that I am a little mostly on a sin kin g ship , the S.S. Vain conf used." Victory. Underneath this format i:; a Jackie's appearance is quite differ ent stunning essay on the various levels and now , with crewcut trair, almost no makeup aspects of reality and illu sion. Although and clothes that do not reflect one gender many of the scenes and lin es are decidedly more than another. But the special comic, this work is quit e ser iou s, and unless mentality that he possesses is still very one listens caref ully to all of what is being eviden t. It is a mentality that constantly said by the players, the immense depth and str ives to innovate and to create, to beauty of the play can become lost in the non-chalantly shock and disarin, and then laughter . Tllat Vain Victory is ultimatel y conqu er through brilliant inventiveness, a concerned with making a deeply penetrating staggering knowledge of the ' history of statement on life, immortality and illusio n Hollywood films and their stars, and an can readily be discerned by the following extremely facile comman d of words. soliloquy from the first act, deliver ed by Of course there are other underground Jackie himself: superstars who se(}m to be both male allll · "The soul does not exist. The Pyramids in female, and most of them be~ome trapped Egypt harbor skin and bones which would in their roles in order to keep attention be more useful to earth's fertility. Man focused on them. Jackie , however, has 111d DOES yearn to be immortal. Even to the is constantly changing, seeminslY extent of preserving his dust. Is immortality nonplussed by physical image. He doesnot so cherishabJe? The desire for immortality is rely on external appearance to achieve fame ht the nature of things. A stone thrown into and recognition , but instead, depends on bll the air yearns to fly qn forever and struggles intellect and large creative output. Still, against the wind that hinders its speed. when makeup is applied , it is brumed on Against the earth which pulls it back to its with as much skill and care as the ~ bosom. Once the whee) turns, it must o atamorous of stars. complete its dizzying career to the end of e1 "There are no permanent relatio~ ti.Ille, The voice breaks out into echoes that D The sex chanae operation shou~.bt it may not vanish and become part of the ir outlawed, abandoned, and forbidd It'• lifent air. Petals of a flower battle against a mutilation, barbaric and anti-hn ... en, ~, the cold bands of Winter. Nothing willingly ti .b t. t _,...... nan • con tr1 u 10n o msu1cme and 1Cie W relinquishesits form and c,ondition. Man is a1 personality. Ice like •• stone ... The wheel and the voice ti This is 1971, not 1950 M and thd' flower. His ingenuity and fear rt material. Clothing merely exp~ ate ~J', have creat~ a shadow which lives F reflects a person's most fflJlterio -• a ' tote-.• His squl,. n III 00 Decor is an article of faith Uk q Y.•11lYlctqry took one week to write, and w and thinp you tact up on a .; ! fl li, Jackie, he spent more time on P· The whole idea of the a1 · apy of Ute other plays. He ji; !aclcie felt that he shoutd bel>Oster a play In its development T m one of those famous ad askedto be owrworbd at all, lor this te mink coats along Withvertiae111 of apoataneity and an bl lllch comple tely unique ex . d to its overrefinement of ideas ho message them far too genteel. own reactions, alt Periencc.ge,re edge and makes . Ugh the l)aSIC , lines are cut and added as of the play remains During rehearsals ~~~ct. bat Vain and goes. Jackie feels that " People have inspiration comes dft " hurry read with and breathe with Victory is about Wee! a play sbouJd You d hen Yo•'rein 8 tell the audience that is watching it, since each sometimes . It's actuau~n't ~- •Ill~~~ dies is different from all others and , people audience bac1t . af>ollt• Ill'° bine ' and comes 1 therefore, their reactions and the players O A IJl&C H~ performance . His life is a deja lireas ¢· r reactions are different at each v:· >th,.:will'oB; ·eeJs reason, Vain Victory cha nges eac h has duplicated s For trus · IS bllt) ,iid t 111· be cut or added, indeed, (played by Bobb night; lines may Avenu:e llee._)-sin AC and whole acts may be cut or added. Guest 'Triumph fortune for the fi baar~ f~ show performers may find themselves on stage rreak backstage to say hello . fellation,' and I i:&ile ~of just by showing up bO are can get a bit Evidently there et~ k.. ,iot·" Th.is great flexibility, which 1ft so much improvisation is not terribly ao""••.::.aie" tense since ~Ql~ . ille-r,'_..tit'S idea& gives each audience a On OJteDina;__..::..~lli&bt It~ JIIY26, fl'-----~_,;;_,. introduced, ______.:;o- . , d Jackie Curtis is a ll'-'flllY g.ettm& HlSl e ucb seemslO ~try diffiAndy Warhol's Some time ago, Jackie and RiUa Redd painting of a Campbell's Soup can. Through mad e a film for viewing on television in arti sts like Jackie, Andy, and othel'S", people Germany and Yugoslavia. Ja ckie has never are beginning to take their Twentie th see n the finishe-0 work, but was ju st rece ntly Century Manufactured Plastic Culture a bit informed th at it had been entered in the more serious ly, or at least the y are co mp et ition at the Cannes Pilm Pestival. becoming more aware of it. These so-<:alled Th e film is called The My.fiery of Orgone, 'pop' images represent t he level of American and is a ta le of the sex life of Ameri can civiJi,zation with unnerving accuracy. women. " I am presently working on three " Images are statements. Narcissism is · healthy. Mirror images aren't necessarily diff erent proj ects: healthful nor narcissistic - the faces we A musical play for a friend - her name is sometimes love are the faces we make up for Carol Burnell , a long time friend , and ourselves. ' I love Eric, Artchie, Hunter, although we haven't spoken five or six Warren, Ritta and Rob ert La Tourneaux. word s in a long time, I know that the Thal 's all I know. Why should I get moment she sets eyes on the script it'll frustrated or unfulfilled?' That 's the become her most magnifice nt obsession. It American Dream. You can't be beguiled by pivots around the life of Amelia Earhar t an d the American Dream. Living on Eart h has is titled 'A WOMAN WITJ-IOUT ARMS' not been easy." subtitled 'Waiting in the Wings.' The second project is finding a theatre for During intermission al a rece nt Vain Victory so that all of the com pany perfo rma nce of Vain Victo ry, I stopped cou ld settle down and aud iences could come backstage to ask Jac kie a few question s. and sec us and there would be time. While retouching his mak eup, making last minute script cha nges, giving a sort of The third project is going to the Grand coaches' 'pep talk• to the other actors and Centra l •y• with Bill Whitehead (my editor looking over my photo contact sheets, from Doubleday) ca listhenics, Jackie to ld me to make sure that I mention weightl ifting , and swimming. that the cloud s in tire set were painted by Idly Tomlin said she wanted to do a TV Larry Rivers and that the Warhol Cow print special with me and J'm writing it now." is from the Castelli Gallery and that I sho uld use photographs that are graphic and tell a Despite such an outrageously hectic story. I said I would try. sched ule, some how amidst so much work , Jackie has managed to write a book, to be "A ndy calls me his 'roommate' and not publi shed by Doub leda y &. Co. It will be one of his supers tars , I suppose beca111eI do called (hold on!) Storm Of Klue,, the mor e than a superstar . Roommates always Glamorous Amorous Memoirs of Jackie do . They never see one another. People pit Curtis at Age 21, Photographed as they th em against each other and yet somehow Happened by Rltta Redd . Jackie is still they remain steadf ast and fate always wor king on the third and fina l section of th e atte nds to t he pair. Andy does have bis rain boo k and hopes tha t it will be out by early mother, Ju lia Warhol, and Jac le bas bis next year. ry, grandmot her, a saloon owner, Sluaer Ann 1ell And, as if that isn't enough, Jacki e will - bo th Jackie an d Andy co ntinue to thrive lies soon be seen in a new film, Andy Warhol' s in entirely different fields of the seven arta ne. Sex, with, amo ng ot hers, Candy Darling, - and somehow manage to meet one He Holly Woodlawn, Dusty Springs, Prindeville ano ther at a cr011roacls somewhere. Jaclcie ,ols Ohio and Ritta Redd . Accordina to Jackle, bu been painted by many other wo rld 111: the movie is about thre e individual spirits, famo us artists as well : Alice Neel, Juper ind abo ut heart, sou l, aood, bad, mo ney , no Johna, Larry Riven, Silver Fro.t, Alphonse ow money . . . about everythina, Oripnally .Scblllln&, Ray Johnson, Dorrian Gray, Mario titled Andy Warhol's LIB, tho movie Is Rivoli, Richard De Quattro , Olen Orr . When based on tho Women's Ub MovomonL Jackie Is uked 'What becomes a lqend Jackie feels that It will be one of tbo btae,t moat?' be wW ._, 'Rllta Rodd wW be movies over made. beckYeryaoon.'"
